Modern converters which activate electric polyphase aggregates (machines) such as synchronous machines or asynchronous machines can be switched over per se. They are not fixedly adapted to one machine type, but contain program segments and control functions for several machine types, e.g. the mentioned synchronous machines or asynchronous machines, or also other polyphase machines such as reluctance machines or synchronous-like machines or servo drives. Appropriately, a control and regulation of the different machine types is not implemented with the same control functions, regulation functions and also not with the same parameters. Any possible monitoring functions must also not be imperatively the same for the different machine types.
Upon the putting into operation, knowledge of the connected machine type is required, which is preadjusted to the convertor by the person putting the machine into operation before it is further adapted to the drive environment (in the case of motors) and the actual machine with the remaining parameters.
However, the knowledge of the machine type cannot always be attributed to the person carrying out the putting into operation. He must get a safe picture on the basis of control lists, type lists and other information as to which machine type must be currently put into operation. This is all the more difficult since servo motors cannot be simply differentiated from the outside as regards their type, i.e. whether they are of the synchronous machine type or the asynchronous machine type. From the outside it is hard to optically differentiate these servo drives; mostly, a type plate is helpful, which, however, does not always provide information in plain language on the type of the machine, but rather indicates other data on the environment of the drive such as voltage, power or pin assignment of the electrical phases.